Donations made to qualified organizations may help reduce the amount of tax you pay.  As a tax-time reminder, following are eight essential tips to help ensure your charitable contributions pay off on your tax return.

1. If your goal is a legitimate tax deduction, then you must be giving to a qualified organization. Also, you cannot deduct contributions made to specific individuals, political organizations or candidates. See IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, for rules on what constitutes a qualified organization.

2. To deduct a charitable contribution, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A. If your total deduction for all noncash contributions for the year is more than $500, you also must complete and attach IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, to your return. (See also, Instructions to Form 8283.)

3. If you receive a benefit because of your contribution—such as merchandise, tickets to a ball game, or other goods and services—then generally you can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received.

4. Donations of stock or other non-cash property are usually valued at the fair market value of the property. Clothing and household items generally must be in good used condition or better to be deductible. Special rules apply to vehicle donations.

5. Fair market value generally is the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither having to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of all the relevant facts.

6. Regardless of the amount, to deduct a contribution of cash, check, or other monetary gift, you must maintain a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written communication from the organization containing the name of the organization and the date and amount of the contribution. For text message donations, a telephone bill meets the record-keeping requirement if it shows the name of the receiving organization, the date of the contribution and the amount given.

7. To claim a deduction for contributions of cash or property equaling $250 or more, you must have a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written acknowledgment from the qualified organization showing the amount of the cash, a description of any property contributed, and whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift. One document may satisfy both the written communication requirement for monetary gifts and the written acknowledgement requirement for all contributions of $250 or more.

8. Taxpayers donating an item or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000 also must complete Section B of Form 8283, which generally requires an appraisal by a qualified appraiser.

For more information on charitable contributions, contact your professional tax advisor or tax preparer, or call Hertsel Shadian, Attorney at Law, LLC at (503) 352-6985. Taxpayers also can refer to IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions and the Instructions to Form 8283, as well as IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. For information on determining the value of donations, refer to IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. All are available at the official IRS website at www.IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). Please feel free to share this article with others that might benefit from this information.